Commodities Corner

Restoring the Sparkle

New cooperatives target illicit diamond trade

ALLUVIAL DIAMONDS from Sierra Leone are among the world's most prized rocks, but they're often intertwined with criminal activity that the diamond industry is striving to eradicate.

Setting out to attack the illicit diamond trade and devise more humanitarian working conditions, aid organizations and investors have established Sierra Leone digger co-operatives. But cleaning up the diamond trade there presents a thorny problem for the industry: If successful, these initiatives could present branding opportunities that...